AU2010212324A1 - An Article of Furniture - Google Patents

Description

An Article of Furniture Field of the Invention The present invention relates to furniture and, in particular, to an article of furniture known as an ottoman. Ottomans are squat articles of either generally cylindrical or generally cubic configuration and are normally upholstered with leather, vinyl, coated fabric, textile fabrics or similar such pliant sheet material. The function of an ottoman is to permit a person sitting in a chair to place their legs in a generally horizontal position by resting their heels on the upper surface of the ottoman. Background Art Conventionally, ottomans are fabricated using a timber frame which is then covered with a layer of padding of some sort and upholstered. The fabrication of the frame is generally time-consuming and those frames which are quickly fabricated tend not to be strong so there is normally a trade-off between the strength of the frame and the time taken to fabricate the frame. Genesis of the Invention The genesis of the present invention is a desire to avoid the difficulties associated with the frame fabrication and to also coincidentally assist in recycling articles of commerce, particularly those which become worn or scuffed through use. Summary of the Invention In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed an article of furniture comprising a frame formed by an article of commerce, a layer of foamed plastics material applied to said frame, and a layer of pliable sheet material covering said foamed plastics material. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of fabricating an upholstered article of furniture, said method comprising the steps of: (i) selecting an article of commerce to form a frame, (ii) covering said frame with a layer of foamed plastics material, and (iii) covering said foamed layer with a layer of pliant sheet material. 1 Brief Description of the Drawings Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view with one part cut away of a conventional ottoman of cubic configuration, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a conventional ottoman of generally cylindrical configuration, Fig. 3 is a perspective view from below of a plastics crate covered with foam with a layer of foam material and illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 4 is a perspective view from the underside of a second embodiment in which the crate is covered with foam material and a slit extends around the periphery of the crate, Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V of Fig. 4 Fig. 6 is a perspective view from above of a foamed frame where the frame is formed from a drum, Fig. 7 is the perspective view from above of a foamed frame where the frame is fabricated from a used pail. Detailed Description As seen in Fig. 1, a conventional ottoman I has a wooden frame 2 onto which are secured four rubber feet 3. As schematically illustrated in Fig. I the frame is covered with a layer of padding 4 typically formed from textile material or sheet foam plastics material. The outer surface of the ottoman is formed from a layer 5 of pliant sheet material such as leather, plastics coated textile fabrics, textiles and the like. It will be apparent that the rigidity of the ottoman is determined by the wooden frame 2 and so this should be cross-braced. However, the cost of the wooden frame 2 is substantially increased by the need to add cross-bracing in order to provide the desirable rigidity. 2 A prior art ottoman II of generally cylindrical appearance is illustrated in Fig. 2 and is formed from a wooden frame 12 having an upper and a lower disc 13, 14 cut from sheet timber or particle board and four uprights 15. The covering of the frame 12 and the upholstering of the ottoman 11 of Fig. 2 is substantially the same as for the ottoman 1 of Fig. 1. In Fig. 3 an ottoman 21 of a first embodiment is formed from a plastics frame 22 which takes the form of a well-known milk crate used in the dairy industry in Australia. The frame or crate 22 has an open mesh construction as illustrated at 23 and the crate 22 is dipped into, or sprayed with, plastics foam material 25 which entirely covers the crate 22. Once the foam material 25 has set the foam-covered crate is then able to be covered with a layer of sheet material in conventional fashion. A second embodiment is illustrated in Fig. 4 where again a rectangular crate 22 is used as a former to produce an ottoman 31 by covering the rectangular crate with foam material 25. As schematically illustrated in Fig. 4, the foam material 25 is provided with a slit 33 which extends around the lower periphery of the ottoman 31. As indicated in Fig. 4, the slit 33 has an outer layer 34 which can be peeled back to enable the lower edge of the sheet material 35, which covers the ottoman, to be secured to the foamed crate by means of staples 36. As indicated in the cross-sectional view of Fig. 5, the outer layer 34 after the stapling process has taken place resumes its original configuration and thereby hides the staples 36 from view. Turning now to Fig. 6, the ottoman 41 of this embodiment has its frame formed from a plastics drum 42 having a handle 43 and a pouring orifice 44. The drum 42 is sprayed with, or dipped into, foam plastics material 25 as before. Finally, as seen in Fig. 7, an ottoman 51 is formed from a plastics container in the shape of a pail of the type used to transport many liquids such as paint or dry granular 3 materials such as swimming pool chlorine, Again, the pail 52 is covered with a layer of foam material 25. It will be apparent to those skilled in the furniture arts that the abovementioned arrangement enables a very strong frame to be obtained for negligible expense and also assists in recycling crates, drums, pails etc which have otherwise reached the end of their effective working life, In particular, crates such as crate 22 often become scuffed and abraded as a result of wear and must therefore be withdrawn from service, not because of any decrease in strength, but merely because the appearance of the crate 22 is deemed inadequate. The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the furniture arts, can be made hereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, articles of furniture which can be fabricated in accordance with further embodiments of the present invention include benches (from two or more adjacent and interconnected crates 22), step up stools/step ladders (from 3 crates 22 arranged two in a bottom layer and one in an upper layer), a draught resister (from a length of flexible plastic hose such as agricultural poly pipe), and the like. The term "comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of "including" or "having" and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of'. 4

Claims (16)

1. An article of furniture comprising a frame formed by an article of commerce, a layer of foamed plastics material applied to said frame, and a layer of pliable sheet material covering said foamed plastics material.

2. The article of furniture as claimed in claim 1 wherein said article of commerce comprises a plastics crate.

3. The article of furniture as claimed in claim 2 wherein said crate has an open top.

4. The article of furniture as claimed in claim 2 or 3 wherein said crate has side walls and a base formed into an open mesh.

5. The article of furniture as claimed in any one of claims 1 - 5 wherein said foamed plastics layer is formed with a slit therein and staples securing said sheet material are located within said slit and extend through said sheet material, through a portion of said foamed plastics material, and into said frame.

6. The article of furniture as claimed in claim 5 wherein said foamed plastics material forming one side of said slit hides said staples from view.

7. The article of furniture as claimed in claim 1 wherein said article of commerce comprises a liquid container.

8. The article of furniture as claimed in claim 7 wherein said liquid container comprises a drum including a handle and pouring orifice.

9. The article of furniture as claimed in claim 7 wherein said liquid container comprises a pail.

10. The article of furniture as claimed in any of claims 1 - 9 and selected from the class consisting of an ottoman, a bench, a step up stool/stepladder, and a draught resister.

11. A method of fabricating an upholstered article of furniture, said method comprising the steps of: (i) selecting an article of commerce to form a frame, (ii) covering said frame with a layer of foamed plastics material, and (iii) covering said foamed layer with a layer of pliant sheet material.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11 including the further steps of: (iv) forming a slit in said foamed plastics layer, and 5 (v) securing said sheet material by locating staples within said slit and passing same through said sheet material and a portion of said foamed layer and into said frame.

13. The method as claimed in claim II or 12 wherein said article of commerce is selected from the group consisting of a plastics crate, a liquid container, a drum having a handle and pouring orifice, and a pail.

14. The method as claimed in any one of claims I1 - 13 wherein said article of furniture selected from the class consisting of an ottoman, a bench, a step up stool/stepladder, and a draught resister.

15. A method of forming an upholstered article of furniture, said method being substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 3 - 7 of the drawings.

16. An article of furniture substantially as herein described with reference to Figs. 3 - 7 of the drawings. Dated this 5d day of August 2010 SEBEL FURNITURE LTD By: FRASER OLD & SOHN Patent Attorneys for the Applicant 6